Roderick "Caribou" Chappel

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Great story, Bootstrap. What year did that take place? Do you still have your Arctic Fox? Do your knives resemble Rod's style? Any chance you could post some photos of your work?

Thanks!
 
The year was 1976 as I remember. Yes, I still have my arctic fox. Yes my blade grinding is much like Rod's in that I like the deep hollow grinds gently curved from the bottom of the ricasso up and forward towards the front. Roger Russel is another knifemaker who grinds in the Chappel style. As for pictures, I have boxes of Kodachrome photos but nothing on computer YET. That's going to change if I can figure out how to connect my scanner to my puter. Puting doesn;t come naturally to me. Too old I guess. but i'll keep trying til I get it.
As a side comment about Rod, the walls of his shop were covered with playboy center folds and I asked him why. He smiled and replied," Where do you think i get my knife designs from?"
 
Bootstrap Bill said:
As a side comment about Rod, the walls of his shop were covered with playboy center folds and I asked him why. He smiled and replied," Where do you think i get my knife designs from?"
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Pretty funny! Hmm, I wonder which Playmate of the Year my Lady Diana was modeled after. :D
 
Some more Rod trivia. His 'rolled edge' came about as a result of his being a part of the Apollo skin design team. Before Apollo,the minuteman and other missles were designed with a beveled nose design,see the letter V. By rolling the edges of the nose cone wind tunnel testing showed them that the rounded nose cone design would cut the air cleaner, thus allowing for greater speed and fuel savings. Rod thought about this and figured out that a knife edge similarly sharpened would cut through ___________(fill in the blank) easier than the older style and he's been proved right by years of meat hunters with his knives or my knives in the field.
The belts that Rod uses are 4 X 72 " on his Square wheel grinder. He uses a 5 HP powered unit since the 3 HP unit could be brought to a complete standstill when he bellied up to it with a sword blade to be roughed in. He proved this to the Wilton salesman who had a come to Jesus moment right there and then.
 
Interesting stuff, but hasn't the "rolled edge" been around for centuries?

Did Rod talk about the walrus ivory at all? A knife dealer/close friend of mine, who knew Rod well, told me that Rod claimed walrus ivory was much more stable and less prone to cracking than elephant ivory. Rod said walrus ivory was "naturally tempered" from the walrus lying in the hot sun and then plunging into the frigid Bering Sea over and over again.
 
TAH said:
flatgrinder or anyone else,

Can you explain the pros and cons of grinding edge down versus edge up?

Thanks!
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Seems to me that 95+% of makers grind edge up, it's easier to focus on the edge thickness this way -but the plunges are usually straight or perpendicular to the edge.

The others grind edge down and make knives that have a sweeping plunge ... I guess they're watching the sweep. I haven't tried it yet, but would like to. Theoretically, sweeping plunges should be stronger if done right.

I guess it could be compared to milling: grinding edge down is like "conventional" milling, it's easier on the belt .... grinding edge up is like "climb" milling -more likely to shear off grit and wear the belt down faster, that's why most makers who grind edge up cut a 45 degree bevel first with a worn out belt.

Basically, in my personal opinion, it seems like grinding edge down has more benefits: grinding belt life and a stronger knife?

However, it requires a lot more skill and control -especially on a big ol' Olympic Square Wheel type grinder with a 4" wide wheel on full speed!!

If memory serves me right, Rod primarily learnt from Harvey Draper (I think he told me, he spent a week with him and after that he was ready, he purchased several thousand pounds of 440C from Fry steel and practiced for several months developing his own grinding style).

Rod was also a knife customer of Gil Hibben (I can't remember if he said he learnt from Gil too) and he also spent time with Bill Moran.

Here's Gil grinding edge down: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iRV4GmGZnBg

(Bill Luckett in Texas also grinds with the sweep -but I don't think he learned from Rod. He's also been making knives a long time).

Hope this info's interesting. :)
 
flatgrinder,

Thank you for the detailed explanation. It was very interesting and it makes me appreciate Rod's skill even more.

You're correct. Rod was trained primarily by Draper, but Moran and Hibben were early influences. Back in the '90s, I owned a Luckett fighter, but eventually traded it. Clearly, Chappel influenced Luckett at some point and Steven Rapp as well.

Bill Luckett
KBLUC000-fighter-solo.jpg


Steven Rapp
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Lin, thanks for the vid of Gil grinding. Good clear commentary.

The Luckett and Rapp pieces are wonderful. Yes, they all share those guard and curvy grinds. I've handled a couple of those by Steven Rapp (STeven owns one!) and they are luxuriously well made.

This thread is delivering WAY more info than I would have expected. Thank you all.
 
I watched the video of Gil roughing in a blade and it looked to me like he was sitting in a chair while grinding. The approach Rod used was very different. He locked the blade blank right in front of his belly button and let his legs and hips do all the work, especially when grinding a large blade or sword. He looked a bit odd when seen from behind while grinding. He looked like a man on a storm tossed deck at sea. He taught me to do it that way and it's always worked for me.BTW, I looked @ the subscription page here and they want $70.00 per year just to be able to post an attachment so I guess I won't be posting pictures.
 
Bootstrap Bill said:
BTW, I looked @ the subscription page here and they want $70.00 per year just to be able to post an attachment so I guess I won't be posting pictures.
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Bootstrap,

The $75.00 annual membership is for knifemakers who want to post photos and sell their goods. Non-paying Registered Members (as you are now) are permitted to post photos just for viewing. In other words, feel free to post photos of knives you have made, as well as other knives in your collection like your Arctic Fox, as long as they are not for sale.

Photos of your knives would be very welcomed in this thread. :)
 
Hey Bootstrap,

I came across this early Arctic Fox and thought you might enjoy seeing it. Look anything like yours?


DSCN1074.JPG
 
One thing that has always fascinated me about Rod was his Native American heritage. I assumed Northwest Coast, but wasn't sure. Just found this on a Ruger Forum assuming it is accurate...

"A friend of mine was Roderick C. Chappel, a Tlingit-Tsimshian native American who was also a famous knife maker. A classically trained industrial designer and craftsman he made some of the most beautiful large knives on the planet.

He looks fearsome in the picture, but in reality he was a big teddy Bear, once you got to know him."

Can anyone confirm? The Tlingit-Tsimshian part, not the teddy bear part. :D
 
From what I remember, Chappel worked in the Draper shop, then Hibben shop for a while. This was back in the late 60's or early 70's along
with Steve Johnson & Buster Warenski. Then they all drifted apart with Chappel going to the Davis Shop in Spokane, Wa. Johnson later followed
him, working along side of Chappel. This was before Johnson went on to work in the loveless shop. I recall Steve saying how much he respected
Rod's talent and his work.
 
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TAH said:
Hey Bootstrap,

I came across this early Arctic Fox and thought you might enjoy seeing it. Look anything like yours?


DSCN1074.JPG
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Actually, no it doesn't look anything like my AF, The blade is roughly the same but my handle is thicker top to bottom and my handle length is noticeably shorter.
 
If you were to take the handle on a Lady Diana, make it beefier, increase the downward angle on the rear half of the handle and give it a pommel like on his hunting Leopard, that would be my handle
 
How about one of these? Note the different guard lengths.


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IMG_3199.jpg
 
Jim Ayers said:
I recall Steve saying how much he respected Rod's talent and his work.
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Thanks for the comments, Jim.

Here is what Steve said about Rod over on the S.R. Johnson Forum:

"Rod Chappel. Acted like I KNEW how to make a knife, what a kick! Treated me very well, room, board, a job in a far away land.....Spokane, Washington. Good memories, didn't appreciate him as I should have. Another great talent!"
 
That last picture with the Rosewood or Cocobolo is just like mine. One thing that no one has mentioned is Rod's trick of making the handle fit your hand perfectly. When I arrived at his shop, we shook hands with our left hand. When asked why he did that he said that that way he could make the handle fit my hand perfectly; and when finished, it did. When someone ordered one of my knives long distance, i'd insist on a tracing of the hand that would hold the knife and from that it was easy to design a handle that would feel almost as good as your d##k.
 
If ya want to see another knifemaker paying homage to Rod,find a picture of Pat Crawford's 'Fighting Joe wheeler' knife
 
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